Since starting my blog about 18 months ago at the encouragement of a friend, my life has taken a complete turn. I was a vegetarian mom, working from home with kids in daycare. My posts were mostly about my kids, but with some of my other interests being thrown in for balance such as cooking, photography and pretty things (I’m a designer so shiny objects get my attention).
But last year I started to run, at the encouragement of that same friend. After only a few short months of training, I ran a half marathon, then another, and then ran the Warrior Dash (a 5k with a dozen obstacle course challenges along the way, during 90+ degree temps). But since then, I have only run a handful of times. Why? Because I also have Chronic Lyme Disease and have experienced one of my worst flair-ups in years. That led me to book an appointment with a specialist, but there is a 4-month wait before I can get in to see him. Meanwhile, I started looking into other ways to curb my symptoms and get a little relief.
I found a lot of information about how diet can affect people with auto-immunne diseases and can trigger the inflammation that causes joint and muscle pain. Most have the same conclusion: gluten, dairy and sugar are all bad. Nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant) can also be a problem. For a vegetarian, that didn’t bode well. I’ve basically turned my diet upside down and have taken on eating a Paleo Diet (aka Primal, Caveman or Grok diet). No pasta? No rice, beans or legumes? Meat…lots of meat? Yep. That’s what I eat now. Along with fruits and veggies, which I loved anyway. But also no yogurt and granola, no cheese, no hummus, no falafel or any of the other foods I’ve eaten as breakfast and snacks for the last 20 years.
Oh, and as for the kids, well, I now homeschool my older son for Kindergarten. His brother is still in Pre-K at daycare, but begs to stay home for school every day so most weeks, he stays and does school with us one or two days. We’re having fun, learning a lot, and growing closer from spending more time together and getting to know each other in a completely different way.
I’m still decaf. That seems to be the onlything that has stayed the same! So moving forward, my posts will have a different purpose from what I’ve done before. I’m now going to chronicle our homeschooling life and the challenges/rewards it brings. I’m also going to chronicle Lyme Disease and how it has affected my entire adult life, and I’m going to post what I’m learning about the Paleo way of life and recipes that my family enjoys as a way to share our experiences with others who are trying to make the switch.
Health and family. Those are the two keys to happiness in my book, so if you’ve read my blog before, I hope you’ll stick with me and enjoy the new direction of my posts. And if you’re here for the first time, I hope that what I’ll be writing about in the future can give you some inspiration, too, and maybe bring a little joy to your life as well.
